Objective 1: To coordinate and ensure quality control over all UW CORES for Health Equity initiatives; provide administrative support and fiscal management for all cores and research projects; promote and monitor progress in the dissemination of research findings; establish and maintain all internal and external collaborations, advisory boards, training and community activities essential to the success of the COE; and to offer infrastructural support for faculty career development and resources for new investigators in the field of health equity. To achieve this objective, the Administrative Core has been divided into component parts with designated oversight responsibilities. Beyond the functions of the Administrative Core, defined in the objective, the Core will also oversee evaluation activities across the other cores. The specific components to achieve this objective and the activities pursued are described below. B.1. Fiscal Management/Resource Allocation and Oversight Co-Pis Adams and Sorkness will meet weekly with the Administrative Director of the Center, Sarah Esmond, MS, to review overall operational activities with a special emphasis on resource use and fiscal management. Tobias Wolf, ICTR Finance and Operations Manager (p.12), will devote an element of his time to the Center and report on P60 budget issues on a monthly basis. Kristin Marlow, ICTR Human Resources Manager (p. 12), will expand her activities and will report quarterly on P60 human resource issues. The Co-Pis and the Administrative Director will meet with the core assistant directors of the Center on a monthly basis as well, reviewing progress in implementing core aims and budget status. Establishment and Maintenance of Advisory Boards The Administrative Core will be responsible for integrating the perspectives of minority and underserved community partners, as well as UW investigators, into the strategic planning for the collaborative Center. As an initial step, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) Minority Health Leadership Council (MHLC) will serve as an external advisory board for the Center. This board will advise the Center regarding academic research proposals, as well as contribute diverse community perspectives and concerns related to the conduct of research in community settings. Specifically, this advisory board will: (1) orient Center leadership in ways to listen and respond to various community stakeholders; (2) create opportunities for additional collaborations with the Center by identifying community partners; (3) advise the Center leadership on: a) important historical and cultural issues to consider when developing partnerships with underserved communities in Wisconsin and b) specific research and leadership training needs to build capacity for successful and sustainable community academic partnerships; (4) provide feedback, based on diverse perspectives, to Center investigators about their research; and (5) assist the Center leadership in becoming a trusted partner, able to work successfully with underserved communities statewide, by building both the academic and community capacity to conduct culturally competent research by partnering, sharing knowledge, and transferring information to a wide variety of audiences to eliminate disparities in health and health outcomes. The MHLC membership reflects diverse representation from community leaders across Wisconsin. As such, it can be challenging to ensure all council members are able to participate in meetings, especially those who live in rural areas of Wisconsin or at a distance from a council meeting site. Our Center is committed to enhance the participation of members by offering stipends to offset travel costs. ICTR will also engage its Health Extension Program (HEP) Regional Research Council infrastructure (Section C.1.) for technological support (teleconference equipment, videoconference sites) to facilitate participation even if a MHLC member is not able to attend a meeting in person. In addition, the membership for this external advisory board will expand to include Dr. Stephen B. Thomas from the University of Pittsburgh consortium (Letter, p. 346-348) and Dr. Damon A. Williams, Vice Provost and Chief Diversity Officer, Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity and Climate (Letter, p. 337-338). The Center will also utilize a newly-created Translational Research in Milwaukee (TRIM) Working Group to represent the perspective of UW investigators. TRIM is composed of active UW researchers performing studies in Milwaukee, who will share best practices, identify implementation challenges, and plan approaches for shared communication and resource strategies. Members include: Mark A. Sager, MD, Wisconsin Alzheimer's Institute; Michael C. Fiore, MD, Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention; Gloria Sarto, MD, UW Center for Women's Health Research; Laurel W. Rice, MD, Chair, UW SMPH OB-GYN; Robert F. Lemanske, MD, Asthma Research Program; John Frey, MD, Supervisor of ICTR's Health Extension Program/Community Engagement; Tracy Schroepfer, PhD, UW School of Social Work; Michael Fleming, MD, UW Department of Family Medicine; Mary Baliker, BS, UW Comprehensive Cancer Center. Drs. Adams, Sorkness and Drezner are also TRIM Working Group members.